Murchison Green Hydrogen awarded Major Project Status

The Murchison Green Hydrogen project has been awarded Major Project Status by the Hon. Ed Husic MP, the Minister for Industry and Sciences. Alongside the project’s Lead Agency Status from the Western Australian State Government, the Major Project Status demonstrates Commonwealth government support.

In addition to recognising the national significance of the project to Australia’s decarbonisation efforts and dedication to developing the green hydrogen industry, MGH also becomes eligible for assistance with navigating complex regulatory regimes, through facilitation and coordination of approval process by the Major Projects Facilitation Agency (MPFA).

Click here to read about the awarding of Major Project Status.

What’s next for hydrogen in Australia?

Australia remains committed to its National Hydrogen Strategy which will lead the country to becoming a major contributor to the global hydrogen industry.

With investments in hydrogen facilities increasing significantly, green hydrogen will be an important source of clean energy to help Australia and neighbouring countries reduce emissions and meet emission targets.

“The market for these gases is still in its infancy and the private sector is calling for a combination of policy and financial support for producers and consumers – as occurred with renewable electricity – and the removal of existing regulatory barriers, to help renewable gases underpin the nation’s emissions reduction goals.” – (Damon Kitney, The Australian, 19 June 2024)

Australian sentiment towards renewables remains strong

The Murchison Green Hydrogen team is proud of the role the project will play in enabling the Australian government and the United Nations to achieve their ambitious carbon emission targets.

More and more Australians are coming to recognise the critical nature of the threat of climate change and agree that there is a need to take steps to mitigate the problem.

The Lowy Institute Poll 2024

This sentiment is reflected in the most recent poll published by the Lowy Institute. The Institute is “an independent, non-partisan international policy think tank located in Sydney, Australia.”

Each year, the Institute conducts a high-quality survey across a range of important social and political issues. This annual Lowy Institute Poll for 2024 was recently published online.

The Poll, conducted by Social Research Centre, surveyed 2028 Australian adults from across the country between the 4th of March and the 17th of March 2024.

Question: Australia’s transition target of 82% of electricity to be generated through renewables by 2030 is… (Source: Lowy Institute Poll 2024)

Sentiment Towards Renewable Energy

The Poll indicates a significant majority of Australians are concerned about climate change and think that we need to mitigate its effects through the development and use of renewable energy.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the survey results:

• 60% of respondents support reducing coal exports.
• 66% of respondents think that the government’s target to generate 82% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030 is either about right or not ambitious enough.
• 72% of respondents think that Australia should commit to a “more ambitious national emissions reduction target.”
• 87% of respondents support the government subsidising renewable technologies.
• 88% of respondents think that steps should be taken to deal with global warming.

To find out more about how the data was collected and the methods used to improve both the accuracy and precision of the data, you can view the Lowy Institute Poll 2024 methodology.